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One Thousand Nights at the Movies: An Illustrated History of Motion Pictures, 1895-1915

By Q. David Bowers and Kathryn Fuller-Seeley

For many, the history of the movies begins with the birth of the studios that would ultimately become a part of the studio system. But the birth of movies began much earlier than that.

One Thousand Nights at the Movies delves deeply into the fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants entrepreneurs who helped the movies grow from a curious novelty into an industry that could be sustainable and profitable.

This richly illustrated coffee-table book charts the tumultuous growth from early inventions and Thomas A. Edison's innovations through the creation of film studios, picture palaces, and the first movie stars.

The authors spotlight the various nickelodeons (and their owners) that first captured the public's attention and interest. Utilizing a wealth of spectacular, never-before-published photographs and rare archival evidence the book celebrates and explores the showmanship of these mom-and-pop Main Street nickelodeon theaters across the United States.

The authors also explore the first stars that the nickelodeons produced and how fans of those stars influenced not only the early moviemakers but gave rise to a new idea in publishing magazines dedicated to those stars and their fans.

Bringing a lifetime of research to this fascinating story of how an upstart new entertainment medium struggled in the early 1900's to become America's greatest form of popular culture, the authors show how it went from Main Street to Wall Street and changed the world.

Tricia Welsch is an associate professor on the Marvin H. Green, Jr., Fund and chair of the film studies program at Bowdoin College. Her work has appeared in Cinema Journal, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, Film Quarterly, Film Criticism, the Journal of Film and Video, the Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Griffithiana, and Genre.

Q. David Bowers is the author of various books on automatic music machines. Combining his love of those machines with his interest in early film history, he has written The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments as well as Nickelodeon Theaters and Their Music and Thanhouser Films. Bowers is the Numismatic Director of Whitman Publishing.

This richly illustrated coffee-table book charts the tumultuous growth from early inventions and Thomas A. Edison's innovations through the creation of film studios, picture palaces, and the first movie stars.

New Books

Backwards & In Heels: The Past, Present And Future Of Women Working In Film

It's almost 2018 yet Hollywood is still an old-boys club treating all women like second-class citizens. Screen Junkies and Fandango host and pundit, Alicia Malone, pulls back the curtain in this call-to-action truth teller. Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, Mila Kunis, Emmy Rossum, Jessica Chastain and Lena Dunham are only a few of the thousands of women in the film industry being discriminated against for their gender. The pay-gap in Hollywood is only part of the problem.

"After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels..." - Ann Richards

Women have been instrumental in the success of American cinema since its very beginning. One of the first people to ever pick up a motion picture camera was a woman, as was the first screenwriter to win two Academy Awards, the inventor of the boom microphone and the first person to be credited with the title Film Editor. Throughout the entire history of Hollywood women have been revolutionizing, innovating, and shaping how we make movies, yet their stories are rarely shared. This is what film reporter Alicia Malone wants to change. Backwards and in Heels tells the history of women in film in a different way, with stories about incredible ladies who made their mark throughout each era of Hollywood. From the first women directors to the iconic movie stars and present day activists--each of these stories are inspiring in the accomplishments of women, and they also highlight the specific obstacles women have had to face. Backwards and in Heels combines research and exclusive interviews with influential women and men working in Hollywood today, such as Geena Davis, J.J. Abrams, Ava DuVernay, Octavia Spencer, America Ferrera, Paul Feig and many more, as well as film professors, historians and experts. Think of Backwards and in Heels as a guidebook--your entry into the complex world of women in film. Join Alicia Malone as she champions Hollywood women of the past and present, and looks to the future with the hopes of leveling out the playing field.

Alicia Malone is a film reporter, host, writer and self-confessed movie geek. She first gained notice hosting movie-centric shows and reviewing films in her native Australia, before making the leap to Los Angeles in 2011. Since then, Alicia has appeared on CNN, the Today show, MSNBC, NPR and many more as a film expert. Currently, she is a host on FilmStruck, a cinephile subscription streaming service run by the Criterion Collection and Turner Classic Movies, and she is the creator and host of the weekly show, Indie Movie Guide on Fandango. Alicia is passionate about classic films, independent movies and supporting women in film. In 2015, Alicia gave a TEDx talk about the lack of women working in film and why this is important to change. In 2017, she was invited to give a second TEDx talk, where she spoke about the hidden stories of the earliest women working in Hollywood. Alicia has also spoken at conferences around America, and because of this, was named of one the 100 Worthy Women of 2016. Alicia has traveled the world to cover the BAFTAs, the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival and SXSW. She is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and over the years has interviewed hundreds of movie stars and filmmakers. She also wrote this bio, but knew it would sound way less egotistical if written in third person.

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Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter, and a Lifetime in Hollywood

As screen icon Kirk Douglas approaches his 100th birthday, he and his wife of 62 years, Anne Buydens, share secrets to longevity in life and love told through candid commentary and priceless correspondence between each other and famous friends from celebrities to world leaders, spanning almost a century.

Part of Turner Classic Movies' publishing program, this book is the story of film legend and centenarian Kirk Douglas and his wife of nearly sixty-three years, Anne. Their stories of enduring love and a lifetime led on the world stage unfold through the couple's own candid commentary and priceless letters from their personal archives. Carefully maintained by Anne over the course of more than six decades and never before made public, the correspondence includes details of their courtship and marriage, set against the backdrop of Kirk's screen triumphs in films ranging from Lust For Life to Paths of Glory and Spartacus.

Through the letters themselves and Kirk and Anne's words, never-before-told stories emerge about the legendary figures they knew so well, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, the Kennedys, and the Reagans; fascinating first-hand accounts of film sets and star-studded dinner parties; and tales of travel to over forty countries as goodwill ambassadors. Complemented by previously unpublished photos, Kirk and Anne candidly details the adventurous, oftentimes comic, and poignant reality behind the glamour of a Hollywood life, as only a couple of sixty-two years (and counting) could tell it.

Kirk Douglas, a living legend at age 100, has distinguished himself as an actor, producer, philanthropist, and author. His numerous recognitions for achievements both on and off screen include an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and France's Legion of Honor. Over a career spanning seventy years, he starred in some eighty films.

Anne Buydens Douglas built her career in the film industry as a publicist. She met Kirk Douglas during the making of Act of Love (1953) and they married soon after. Anne would become his closest advisor and eventually take the reins as president of their independent production company, Bryna Productions.

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Elizabeth and Michael

By Donald Bogle

One of the country's leading authorities on popular entertainment presents an eye-opening and unique biography of two larger-than-life legends--Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson--and their unlikely yet enduring friendship.

From the moment Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson met, they were hooked on each other. He peered into her violet eyes and was transfixed; she, in turn, was dazzled by his talent, intrigued by his sweet-tempered childlike personality, and moved by the stories she had already heard about his troubled early life. Soon a deep friendship blossomed, unexpectedly unlike anything either had ever experienced. Through thick and thin, through their various emotional upheavals, through the peaks and valleys of their careers, through their personal traumas and heartaches, through the unending health issues and extreme physical pain that each experienced, and through the glare of the often merciless public spotlight, their bond held them together, and their love for each other endured.

Donald Bogle skillfully recreates the moving narrative of Taylor and Jackson's experiences together and their intense emotional connection, without shying away from the controversies that swirled around them. Through interviews with friends and acquaintances of the two stars, as well as anonymous but credible sources, Elizabeth and Michael emerges as a tender, intimate look at this famous "odd couple" and a treasure to their millions of fans.

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Robert Wagner's I LOVED HER IN THE MOVIES: Memories of Hollywood's Legendary Actresses

By Robert Wagner and Scott Eyman

In a career that has spanned over sixty years, Robert Wagner has witnessed the twilight of the Golden Age of Hollywood and the rise of television, becoming a beloved star in both film and TV. During this time, he became acquainted, both professionally and socially, with many of the greatest female screen personalities of all time. I LOVED HER IN THE MOVIES: Memories of Hollywood's Legendary Actresses (On-sale: 11/15/16) by Robert Wagner, with co-author Scott Eyman, provides an intimate and revealing account of the charisma of these women on film, why they became stars, and how their specific emotional and dramatic chemistries affected the choices they made both as actresses and as women.

I LOVED HER IN THE MOVIES offers a privileged look behind the scenes at some of the most well-known women in show business. Among Wagner's subjects are Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Gloria Swanson, Norma Shearer, Loretta Young, Joan Blondell, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Dorothy Lamour, Debra Paget, Jean Peters, Linda Darnell, Betty Hutton, Raquel Welch, Glenn Close, and the two actresses whom he ultimately married, Natalie Wood and Jill St. John. In addition to offering perceptive commentary on these women, Wagner examines topics like the strange alchemy of the camera--how it can transform the attractive into the stunning, and vice-versa--and how the introduction of color brought a new erotic charge to movies--one that enabled these actresses to become aggressively sexual beings in a way that that black and white films had only hinted at.

Robert Wagner is the star of such films as A Kiss Before Dying, The Longest Day, The Pink Panther, and most recently, the Austin Powers franchise. On television, he starred in It Takes a Thief (with Fred Astaire), Switch (with Eddie Albert and Sharon Gless), and Hart to Hart (with Stefanie Powers). He has recently appeared on Two and a Half Men and NCIS. He is married to actress Jill St. John.

Scott Eyman is the author of eleven books about the movies, including Lion of Hollywood: The Life of Louis B. Mayer (which the Wall Street Journal called one of the five best books ever written about Hollywood), Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille, and more recently, John Wayne: The Life and Legend.

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DVD Reviews

Dick Dinman & Eddie Muller Reach Their BREAKING POINT!

DICK DINMAN & EDDIE MULLER REACH THEIR "BREAKING POINT": TCM's acclaimed "Noir Alley" host Eddie Muller joins producer/host Dick Dinman in a noir-ish duet as both sing the praises of Michael Curtiz' alternately tough and tender John Garfield masterpiece THE BREAKING POINT (which Eddie feels is Curtiz' best directed feature) and the Criterion Collection's shimmeringly spotless Blu-ray release of this Warner Bros. gem is certain to restore this comparatively obscure film to it's rightful position as one of the finest film noir classics ever committed to celluloid.

The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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Dick Dinman Salutes Cagney/Wilder Comedy Classic ONE, TWO, THREE

DICK DINMAN SALUTES CAGNEY/WILDER CLASSIC "ONE, TWO, THREE": Kino Lorber's KL Studio Classics division has just released on Blu-ray Billy Wilder's break-neck mile-a-minute cold war comedy classic ONE, TWO, THREE in which Hollywood great James Cagney gives one of the richest, funniest, most breathlessly paced performances of his career and joining producer/host Dick Dinman to salute this frantically paced comedic milestone is classic film distributor and popular writer, producer and director Michael Schlesinger whose commentary is one of the highlights of this much requested and long awaited Blu-ray release.

PLUS: "Dick's Picks" salutes KL Studio Classics Blu-ray releases of Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT, THE INDIAN FIGHTER, MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR, A FAREWELL TO ARMS, TOUGH GUYS, DAREDEVILS OF THE RED CIRCLE, THE SHIEK and SON OF THE SHIEK, ZAZA and the 3-D Archive's brilliantly immersive 3-D restoration of THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE.

The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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DICK DINMAN & GEORGE FELTENSTEIN SALUTE TRACY/HEPBURN, SCOTT/McCREA HITS!: Warner Home Video's popular Senior Vice President of Classic and Theatrical Marketing George Feltenstein rejoins producer/host Dick Dinman as both salute the Blu-ray release of George Stevens' WOMAN OF THE YEAR which teamed Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn for the very first time (and which together with Criterion's astounding Blu-ray incarnation of Michelangelo Antonioni's countercultural masterpiece BLOW-UP continues Warner Home Video's highly acclaimed association with the prestigious Criterion Collection) as well as the spectacular looking Warner Archive Blu-ray release of Sam Peckinpah's legendary masterwork RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY in which iconic western stars Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea unite for the first and only time.
PLUS: The underrated Glenn Ford/Henry Fonda contemporary western comedy THE ROUNDERS, Henry Fonda in SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN, the Sci-Fi hits WORLD WITHOUT END, WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH and much in demand cult classic FROM HELL IT CAME in which a marauding and perpetually scowling tree terrorizes even more wooden thespians.

The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

COMING SOON: JAMES CAGNEY RULES IN BILLY WILDER'S ONE, TWO, THREE!

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Dick Dinman & George Feltenstein Salute Kelly & Astaire Musicals!

DICK DINMAN & GEORGE FELTENSTEIN SALUTE KELLY & ASTAIRE MUSICALS: Warner Home Video and it's Warner Archive continue their celebrated tradition of releasing the greatest musicals of dancing legends Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire in pristine Blu-ray quality with the respective Blu-ray releases of Kelly's IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER and Astaire's FINIAN'S RAINBOW and producer/host Dick Dinman welcomes back Warner Home Video's Sr, Vp. of Classic and Theatrical Marketing George Feltenstein as both explore the immense challenges and difficulties both films faced during each of their production periods and the myriad of reasons that both films are far more popular today than they were in their initial releases.

The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

COMING SOON: TRACY & HEPBURN! SCOTT & McCREA!! TABONGA!!!

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Dick Dinman Salutes Undervalued Star Van Johnson!

DICK DINMAN SALUTES UNDERVALUED STAR VAN JOHNSON: Kino Lorber's KL Studio Classics division has just released on Blu-ray a sparkling brand new 4K restoration of the riveting suspense thriller 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET and producer/host Dick Dinman welcomes noted author and classic film aficionado John McElwee to the show as both pay tribute to the versatile and undervalued 23 PACES TO BAKER STREET star Van Johnson.

PLUS: "Dick's Picks" salutes KL Studio Classics Blu-ray releases of I WAKE UP SCREAMING, Elia Kazan's BOOMERANG, THE HOUSE ON 92nd STREET, THE LODGER, Preston Sturges' BEAUTIFUL BLONDE FROM BASHFUL BEND, Fritz Lang's WESTERN UNION, Henry King's DAVID & BATHSHEBA and PRINCE OF FOXES, NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY, THE SICILIAN CLAN and BOY ON A DOLPHIN (stunning new 4K restoration!).

The award-winning DICK DINMAN'S DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR is the only show devoted to Golden Age Movie Classics as they become available on DVD and Blu-ray. Your producer/host Dick Dinman includes a generous selection of classic scenes, classic film music and one-on-one interviews with stars, producers, and directors. To hear these as well as other DVD CLASSICS CORNER ON THE AIR shows please go to www.dvdclassicscorner.com or www.dvdclassicscorner.net.

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Press Release

Arnold Leibovit Co-Hosts 2-Night Tribute to George Pal - Oct. 11 & 12

Producer-Director Arnold Leibovit guest hosts on Turner Classic Movies with Ben Mankiewicz on Oct. 11 & Oct. 12, 2017 introducing his films The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal & The Puppetoon Movie, both produced and directed by Leibovit, plus 8 George Pal features for this Special 2 Day Tribute. Pal was the Academy Award® winning Sci-Fi Fantasy pioneer of such classics as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, When Worlds Collide, Houdini, Tom Thumb, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Destination Moon and many others.

Arnold Leibovit was Executive Producer of the Dreamworks/Warner Bros. remake of The Time Machine (2002) with Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons, Special Effects by Industrial Light & Magic/Digital Domain/Stan Winston.

Among the legends of Hollywood, George Pal takes his place as a true visionary, an innovator and a showman who profoundly shaped the art of motion pictures. A peer and friend of Walt Disney, Pal pioneered stop motion animation and went on to virtually invent the modern science fiction and fantasy film genre. Pal's extraordinary genius molded a dazzling array of films which earned 8 Academy Awards® and left a cinematic legacy that served as formative inspiration for the movies of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry and many more.

The Puppetoon Movie - Academy Award® winning genius George Pal created a series of stop motion animated shorts in the 1930's and 1940's called "Puppetoons". Brilliant even by today's standards, they are visual feasts that need to be seen to be believed. Pal's invention of replacement figure puppets in stop motion animation have been copied but never equaled. These works have been the a seminal markers for animators to aspire since they were created which continues today with Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks etc.

The Puppetoon Movie 2 Disc Blu-ray and 2 Disc DVD stars Gumby and Pokey with Oscar® Winning Puppetoons "Tubby the Tuba", "Tulips Shall Grow", "John Henry and the Inky Poo", "Jasper In A Jam", "Together In The Weather", "Philips Broadcast 1938", "Philips Cavalcade", "Sleeping Beauty" and others plus seven restored Puppetoons not seen in well over half a century and done with the cooperation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and UCLA Film Archives and includes the very first Dr. Seuss films ever made i.e. "500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins" and "To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street" plus "Date with Duke" (Duke Ellington), "Rhapsody in Wood" (Woody Herman), "Jasper and the Beanstalk", "The Sky Princesss", and "Rhythm in the Ranks" plus hours of extra content including The Great Rupert Pal's first feature starring Jimmy Durante in HD, The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal (produced and directed by Leibovit), rare archival footage, expanded interviews, many more Puppetoons.

Arnold Leibovit is an award-winning writer, director and producer. He wrote, directed and produced the acclaimed film tribute "The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal" (1986) profiling the life of the Oscar® winning science fiction and fantasy film pioneer, who directed the first screen telling of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine". "Fantasy Worlds" features a who's who of over 25 stars and industry greats that worked with the late director. The film premiered at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and has since aired on The Disney Channel, PBS and won numerous awards. The DVD was released by Image Entertainment (September 2000). Following this film, Leibovit obtained the rights to "The Time Machine" book and the motion picture which led to his Executive Producing the (2002) Dreamworks/Warner Bros. remake starring Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons with special effects by Digital Domain, Industrial Light and Magic and Stan Winston. He is working on producing a sequel to "The Time Machine", a remake of George Pal's "7 Faces of Dr. Lao" and directing a science fiction dramedy "Contactees Anonymous". In addition, Leibovit directed and produced "The Puppetoon Movie," featuring such classic animation characters as Gumby, Pokey and Tubby the Tuba and the Oscar® winning animated films of George Pal. The film premiered at the first American Film Institute Film Festival, distributed theatrically by Expanded Entertainment and has since screened at international film festivals in such cities as London, England; Annecy, France; Sitges, Spain; Tokyo, Japan; and Melbourne, Australia, as well as airing on Showtime. The DVD was released by Image Entertainment (November 2000) and a newly restored expanded Blu-Ray was released by B2MP Inc. (December 2014) that includes more newly restored Puppetoons with the cooperation of Paramount Pictures, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and UCLA. Leibovit also produced the DVD re-release of "The Great Rupert" (2000), George Pal's first feature film, by Image Entertainment and the Blu-ray version (2014) released by B2MP Inc. on "The Puppetoon Movie" disc set. Leibovit served as associate director/editor of King World Productions "Rascal Dazzle," featuring Hal Roach's "Our Gang" comedies, which was narrated by Jerry Lewis and scored by Nelson Riddle; and directed three award winning short subjects: "Penny Lane" (1975) renowned film on toy mechanical banks, "Judgment: An Essay on War" (1974) widely televised and "The Fatherland" (1973) selected by The Whitney Museum of Art as part of The New Ameican Filmmakers Series. Apart from the big screen, Leibovit produced the CD soundtrack re-scoring of the 1960 "The Time Machine" (1988) with its original composer Russell Garcia and the "The Fantasy Film Music of George Pal" (2004) CD covering the MGM/Warner Bros. years (1958-1975). Mr. Leibovit served as Production Executive for Mavin Productions and the original Broadway Chicago musical comedy "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?". Next to "Grease" this was the longest running show in Chicago history. Leibovit also directed Neil Simon's "Star Spangled Girl" at the Neil Simon Comedy Festival in Cedar City, Utah (2005). Mr. Leibovit received the George Pal Memorial Award 'The Saturn' from the Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy three CINE Golden Eagles, two International Film & TV Festival Awards, two Awards of Excellence by the Film Advisory Board and many others. Leibovit is an acting member of the Producers Guild of America.

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Alec Baldwin to Host TCM's THE ESSENTIALS

Legendary Late Night Host David Letterman, Emmy and Golden Globe® Winner Tina Fey and Oscar-Winning Director William Friedkin Set to Join as Special Guests Throughout the Season.

Premieres May 6 & Airs Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Turner Classic Movies announced that Emmy® winner and Oscar® nominee Alec Baldwin will host The Essentials, TCM's popular franchise showcasing "must see" classic films. Joining Baldwin each week throughout the season will be one of three special guests: late-night television icon David Letterman, acclaimed actress, writer and comedian Tina Fey and legendary filmmaker William Friedkin. Together, Baldwin and his guests will introduce a hand-picked classic and offer color commentary on its cultural significance, its influence on other films, behind-the-scenes stories and their own personal reflections. The new season of The Essentials, which airs every Saturday night, premieres May 6 at 8 p.m. (ET).

The Essentials will kick off with special guest David Letterman joining Baldwin to discuss a plethora of poplar classics including:
 The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) - airing May 6
 East of Eden (1955) - airing on May 13
 No Time for Sergeants (1958) - airing on May 27
 The Big Sleep (1946) - airing on June 16

Tina Fey will make her guest appearance starting on June 24 to discuss her favorite classic films including:
 Rear Window (1954) - airing June 24
 The Lady Eve (1941) - airing on July 1
 The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) - airing on July 8
 Singin' in the Rain (1952) - airing on August 5

Baldwin takes over The Essential's hosting duties following the death of his close friend and colleague, Robert Osborne, who hosted the franchise from 2006 to 2015. A longtime friend of TCM and supporter of classic films, Baldwin has appeared frequently on the network, including as co-host of The Essentials with Robert Osborne from 2009 to 2011. He demonstrated his skill as an interviewer in 2008, when he joined one of his idols, Gene Wilder, for an hour-long discussion at Wilder's home in the special Role Model: Gene Wilder. Baldwin turned the tables on Osborne in 2015 by interviewing the longtime TCM host for Private Screenings: Robert Osborne, a one-hour special that premiered as part of TCM's 20th Anniversary celebration. This past October, Baldwin was the on-air host for a month-long look at the world's greatest and most influential documentaries for TCM's Spotlight showcase.

"I have some big shoes to fill hosting The Essentials, and I plan on doing Bob proud with this new season of The Essentials," said Baldwin. "Dave, Tina and Billy each bring a unique perspective to the movies in our lineup, and they have some fascinating, and even surprising, insights to share as we shine a spotlight on some of our favorite 'must-see' films from over a century of epic moviemaking."

Additionally, select titles from The Essentials will also be available at 30,000 feet through Delta Studio, Delta Air Lines' industry-leading, free in-flight entertainment collection. Delta operates the world's largest in-flight entertainment-equipped fleet, offering up to 300 movies, 750 TV shows, 100 foreign film titles, 2,400 songs, 18 channels of live satellite TV on select aircraft and a selection of games on aircraft with seat-back entertainment systems.

To view a promo and for more information including a complete schedule, bios, images and film information, please visit tcm.com/essentials.

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Library of America's The Moviegoer on LAURA

Library of America's new regular web feature called The Moviegoer is devoted to great films inspired by classic American writing. This biweekly column features columns by Megan Abbott, David Denby, Wendy Lesser, Charles McGrath, Farran Smith Nehme, Carrie Rickey,Terrence Rafferty, Harold Schechter, Michael Sragow, & others and launched on January 27, 2016.

American literature has proven an endlessly renewable resource for filmmakers, its originality and vitality inspiring whole catalogues of memorable movies. Now Library of America, the acclaimed nonprofit publisher of the nation's greatest writing, presents The Moviegoer, a biweekly column in which curator Michael Sragow (Film Comment) and other leading writers and critics offer fresh, penetrating examinations of the best of these films, gems that readers will want to revisit or watch for the first time. Standing at the intersection of classic American writing and classic filmmaking, The Moviegoer, offers not reviews but full scale reevaluations that explore the creative alchemy involved in translating a masterwork from page (or stage) to screen. It takes its inspiration, and its catholic compass, from the hero of Walker Percy's famous novel, and, in the words of curator Sragow, "aims to generate new enthusiasm for cinema as well as for literature."

To read the entry in the series on Laura by Megan Abbott and to sign up for an alert when a new Moviegoer is published, click here.

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FilmRise has announced the September 1 Blu-Ray and DVD release of Tab Hunter Confidential. After an incredible year on the film festival circuit and a theatrical run across fifty cities in the United States, the acclaimed documentary will be available to rent or own from all major retailers. Based on Hunter's New York Times best selling memoir, producer Allan Glaser and director Jeffrey Schwarz (I Am Divine) have assembled dozens of past and present Hollywood stars, and most importantly the man himself, to talk frankly about being a survivor of the Hollywood roller coaster. The Blu-Ray & DVD will be available nationwide at all major retailers, with autographed copies only available on Tab Hunter's official website, www.tabhunter.com. Click here to learn more and order Tab Hunter Confidential on Blu-Ray & DVD (with optional autograph).

Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood's ultimate heartthrob. In dozens of films, and in the pages of countless magazines, Hunter's astonishing looks and golden-boy sex appeal drove his fans to screaming, delirious frenzy, solidifying him the prototype for all young matinee idols to come. Bristling against being just another pretty face and wanting to be taken seriously, Hunter was one of the few to be able to transcend pin-up boy status. He earned his stripes as an actor to become a major movie star and recording artist. But throughout his years of stardom, Hunter had a secret. He was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Decades later, Hunter's dramatic, turbulent and ultimately inspiring life story has become an explosive documentary feature.

Tab Hunter Confidential offers unprecedented access to the man behind the marquee smile, who shares first hand what it was like to be a manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio image. The film traces Hunter's dizzying rise to Hollywood super-stardom, his secret life in an era when being openly gay was unthinkable, and his ultimate triumph when the limelight finally passed him by and true love won.

Punctuating Tab's on-screen presence are rare film clips and provocative interviews with friends and co-stars including John Waters, Clint Eastwood, George Takei, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Portia de Rossi, Noah Wyle, Connie Stevens, Robert Osborne, and dozens more.

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3-D Funhouse at MoMA in NYC - Sept. 1-10

3-D Funhouse is a weeklong tribute to the enterprising 3-D Film Archive, whose curators have dedicated themselves to collecting, restoring, and presenting in digital form the stereoscopic films of the analog era. It takes a lot of dedication and detective work to reassemble these wonders of midcentury technology, many of which were discarded by their producers once the 1950s 3-D fad had passed. Presented here are four newly restored features, ranging from the studio musical Those Redheads from Seattle (1953) to the feisty independent science-fiction film Gog (1954), as well as a program of rare 3-D shorts.